Assignment: Earth (episode)
The Enterprise travels back in time to 1968, where the crew encounters the mysterious Gary Seven who claims to be sent by advanced beings trying to help Earth. (Season finale) Summary Teaser :"Captain's log. Using the light-speed breakaway factor, the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|''Enterprise]] has moved back through time to the 20th century. We are now in extended orbit around Earth, using our ship's deflector shields to remain unobserved. Our mission – historical research. We are monitoring Earth communications to find out how our planet survived desperate problems in the year ... 1968."'' Suddenly the ship is rocked and Spock reports that they seem to have intercepted someone's transporter beam. Captain Kirk remarks that there were no such devices in the 20th century. Spock maintains that someone is beaming aboard and Kirk runs down. Spock discovers that the transporter beam originates more than a thousand light years away. Scotty finds that difficult to believe, stating that no transporter could reach that far, not even in their time. Suddenly a man in a dark suit, holding a black cat, appears on the transporter pad. Act One The strange man asks Kirk why he was intercepted and who his interceptors are. Kirk identifies himself and tells the man he's aboard the United Spaceship Enterprise. The man asks what planet they're from and Kirk says Earth. But the man doesn't believe it, because 20th century technology wouldn't allow for a ship like the Enterprise. But when he notices that Spock is a Vulcan, he realizes the ship is from the future and asks to be beamed down to Earth. As security arrives, the man identifies himself as Gary Seven, a man from the 20th century. His cat's name is Isis. Kirk states, however that humans of the 20th century do not go beaming around the universe. Seven says he's been on another planet which is far more advanced and that he was beaming to Earth from that planet when he was intercepted by Enterprise. When Kirk asks what planet it is, Seven says that the inhabitants wish their planet be kept secret and that not even in Kirk's time will it be known. Seven reiterates that he is of this time period and that if Kirk does not allow him to do what he needs to do down on Earth, then Kirk will have changed history. But Kirk isn't sure that Seven is telling the truth and decides to keep him aboard the ship until that can be determined. However, Seven tries to escape, overpowering the security guards and shrugs off Spock's attempt at a Vulcan neck pinch. Seven is only subdued by a phaser stun from Kirk. :"Captain's log, supplemental. A man in a 20th century business suit – what is he? Not even Spock's Vulcan neck pinch could stop him. Without our phasers, he would have overpowered all five of us. I find it difficult to believe the mysterious Mr. Seven can be Human. And yet, suppose he is?" In the briefing room, Spock, who is stroking Isis, mentions that he finds himself strangely drawn to the cat. Chekov reports that analyzing the direction Seven's transporter beam came from show no habitable planets in that area of the galaxy and Scotty says that they can't analyze the transporter beam as it fused their recording circuits. The beam could have brought him across tremendous distances across space and perhaps even through time, there's just no way to know. Spock also mentions that current crises on Earth could fill a tape bank. On this one day, Spock says that "There will be an important assassination today, an equally dangerous government coup in Asia, and, this could be highly critical, the launching of an orbital nuclear warhead platform by the United States countering a similar launch by other powers." Kirk and Spock briefly discuss the nuclear arms race and just how that once the sky was filled with orbiting H-bombs, the slightest mistake could have brought one down, setting off a nuclear holocaust. Seven soon escapes from the brig using a device disguised as a pen called a "servo" to deactivate the force field and put the guard to sleep. Back in the briefing room, McCoy tells Kirk that Seven is indeed human, but that there's not a physical flaw at all with him. Which raises the possibility that he could be an alien taking human form and Spock points out again that Seven could be telling the truth. Kirk laments that they're not telling him anything definite. At that point, Isis jumps out of Spock's lap and leaves the briefing room. Security then alerts that Seven has escaped. In the transporter room, Seven renders the operator unconscious with his servo, is rejoined by Isis, and beams down before Kirk can stop him. Act Two Seven materializes inside a transporter chamber concealed behind a sliding rack of glasses in what appears to be an otherwise normal office. Seven accesses a computer behind the bookcase. Seven asks for the locations of agents 201 and 347. The computer asks Seven to identify himself and Seven tells the computer to check his voice pattern, and it'll identify him as Supervisor 194, code name Gary Seven. The computer recognizes his voice pattern but is unaware of a Gary Seven being assigned to this planet. Seven then tells the computer that he s a class one supervisor and that the computer is to override all previous instructions and answer his questions. The computer identifies itself as a Beta 5 computer capable of analytical decision. The computer forces Seven to prove himself by describing the mission of the two agents that were sent here. Finally Seven relents and tells the computer that the missing agents 201 and 347 are male and female descendants of humans taken from the Earth approximately six thousand years ago (circa 4000 BC) and specially engineered and trained for this mission. The problem is Earth's science and technology have progressed faster than political and social knowledge, Their mission is to prevent Earth from destroying itself before it can become a peaceful society. The computer states that Seven's information, while incomplete, will suffice and tells Seven that the agents have not reported for three days. Seven tells the computer to immediately begin a search and begins describing how to do so when the computer tells him it is aware of proper search procedures. Meanwhile, back on Enterprise, Kirk, Spock and Scotty are trying to determine where Seven beamed down. Scotty says they can get within about a thousand meters or so of where he went. Spock reminds Kirk that following him down is very risky as well because of the possibility of them doing something accidentally to change history. Kirk says he knows but he must also know if Seven is being truthful with them. Kirk tells Scotty to have ship's stores prepare the proper costumes and then prepare to beam them down. In his apartment, Seven learns that the agents' mission was to disable a rocket that will launch an American orbiting nuclear platform which is a countermove to an opposing country about to do the same. Seven says this arms race is the same kind of nonsense which almost resulted in the destruction of planet Omicron IV, which the computer confirms. Seven asks if the warhead has been disabled and the computer says it hasn't and that there is just under 90 minutes before launch. Seven says that unless the agents are immediately located he will have to undertake their mission in their absence. Having beamed down, Kirk surreptitiously calls Scotty and tells him to lead them to Seven. Scotty gives Kirk the coordinates and Kirk and Spock proceed. While the computer provides Seven with various pieces of false identification, including identification listing Seven as a colonel with the CIA, as a lieutenant in the NYPD and as a colonel with the NSA. It has also produced a map of McKinley Rocket Base. At that moment, a young woman walks in and asks if anyone's in. Seven steps out and demands to know where she's been. Seven means where she's been for the past three days. The woman sees no reason to tell him and asks who he is. Seven asks where 347 is and she has no clue, jokingly replying that perhaps he's with 348 and then decides to call the police. After insisting that she sit down, Seven tells her (believing that she's agent 201) that he's "Supervisor 194, code name Gary Seven" and that he needs a complete report of all that she's done in the last three days. As the woman prepares to start typing, Seven flips a switch and tells her not to bother with her hands. When she wonders how she'll type, the typewriter begins typing everything she says. After getting very frustrated and yelling for the typewriter to stop typing what she says, (Seven finally switches it off), she says she's going to quit and then Seven realizes she's not acting. Using his servo he locks the door and accesses the computer and has it identify the woman in the room. The Beta-5 identifies her as Roberta Lincoln and that she is a secretary hired by agents 347 and 201. Realizing the terrible mistake he's made, Seven asks Roberta what work did her employers say they were doing and she says they were researching for a new encyclopedia. Seven tells her she can go although she won't be helping her country, unless of course, she doesn't care for her country. When Roberta protests that she does Seven tells her that thanks to his incompetence, he has made her aware of some top secret devices vital to the security of the nation. He shows her is fake CIA ID and she accepts that it's legit. Isis opens the door and meows at Seven. Seven explains to Roberta that Isis is a trained cat and asks Roberta not to let anyone in and she agrees to do so. Out on the street, Kirk calls Scotty again and Scotty tells Kirk that the source was about thirty meters higher than his present location and so Kirk and Spock enter Seven's apartment building. The Beta 5 tells Seven that agents 201 and 347 were killed in an automobile accident ten miles north of McKinley Rocket Base on Highway 949. Seven laments the uselessness of dying in such a manner and ask if the facts are verified and the computer verifies, noting the description of the bodies is accurate. Outside the apartment, Scotty tells Kirk the direction to go and they find the right apartment. Kirk rings the doorbell and Seven has the computer deactivated. Roberta opens the door and when Kirk asks about Seven she says she has no idea who he's talking about and that this is a government office and they should leave but Kirk is having none of it, demanding to know where Seven is. Roberta demands that Kirk leave but he won't do it and she finally grabs the phone and calls for the police. Kirk and Roberta briefly struggle over the phone and she asks Seven to come help her. Seven meanwhile, has entered the transporter in his safe and disappeared. Spock discovers where Seven was at and Kirk goes in and has Spock restrain Roberta. She manages to pull Spock's cap off and is dumbstruck at the sight of Spock's pointed ears. Seven rematerializes inside the rocket base and observes the rocket which is armed with the warhead. Act Three Kirk finds Seven's map of McKinley Rocket Base. Roberta tells them she's already called the police to the office. When the police arrive, Spock tries to keep Roberta quiet, but she screams before he can. Kirk calls Scotty and has him perform a wide scan as they'll be moving and be ready to beam them up. They run into the office, Roberta runs to the door and lets the police in and points them into the office. They run in just as Kirk orders them beamed up and the two police officers are beamed up with Kirk and Spock, all four disappearing before Roberta's eyes. Kirk and Spock jump off the transporter platform, Kirk immediately orders Scotty to beam the policemen back down and he does, and the two policemen return to the office, the two officers dumbstruck at what they've seen and experienced and Roberta not knowing what to think. At the rocket base, there is only fifty minutes left until launch. Seven is stopped by a security guard as he approaches launch control. The guard requests identification and Seven produces his CIA ID. While the guard calls to verify, Isis (whom the guard had Seven lower to the ground) distracts the guard, allowing Seven to stun him with his servo and he then tells the security identification office that everything is now OK. He then tells the stunned guard he's tired and he should take a nap, which the guard immediately sits down and does. Seven then makes his way to the gantry elevator by hiding in the trunk of the launch director's car. When the car arrives at the launch pad, he exits the trunk, hides in the elevator, reaches a gantry, removes an access panel with his servo and begins to rewire the rocket. Meanwhile, Kirk, Spock and Scotty, in the transporter room, search for Seven at the launch site by bouncing their sensors off a low-orbit weather satellite. Unable to find him, Kirk and Spock decide to beam down to the base to search for Seven the old fashioned way. They materialize in front of the previously stunned guard as he awakens. They are taken into custody by the guard and escorted to the control room in the launch complex. They are briefly interrogated, but all attention focuses on the launch preparations. Kirk and Spock stand there, helpless. Meanwhile, planning to quit again and telling the computer interface that she promises not to tell anyone about it and Seven, Roberta accidentally discovers that depressing a pen on the desk opens the sliding glass rack. She then fiddles with the combination lock to the safe and succeeds in opening the safe/alien transporter room. At the same time, using the ship's sensors, Scotty locates Seven on the rocket gantry while he is manipulating wires on the rocket. Scotty calls for security and then attempts to beam him up. Hearing the transporter beam, Seven gathers Isis into his arms. At the same time, Lincoln's fiddling with the safe/alien transporter controls pulls him back to the NYC office. In the launch facility, Kirk and Spock watch helplessly as the countdown progresses. The security officers inspect Kirk and Spock's phasers and communicators. The security supervisor tells Kirk that only the slightest possible charges will be brought against them if they explain why they're here and what they're doing. But Kirk can only stand silently and watch as the rocket launches up toward space. Act Four :"Captain's log, supplemental. Spock and I in custody. Even if we'd talk, they wouldn't believe us. We're powerless to stop Mr. Seven or prevent the launch, or even be certain if we should. I have never felt so helpless." In the office, Seven is initially angry at Roberta for interfering but then calms when he realizes that what she did likely kept him from being transported aboard the Enterprise. He then goes over and begins to work at the Beta 5 computer. He inquires whether he did enough to take control of the rocket and Beta 5 confirms he did. Seven uses the Beta 5 exceiver circuits to cause the third stage of the American rocket to malfunction and veer off course. He also arms the warhead, and is shortly thereafter hit on the head by Roberta who has become very suspicious of Seven, realizing that what he's doing is even beyond the CIA's abilities. She grabs Seven's servo and tells him to stay where he is. Seven begs Roberta to let him finish what he's started, otherwise when that warhead detonates somewhere, six minutes from now, it will start World War III. On the bridge Chekov and Sulu see the warhead arm and call Scotty in the transporter room to tell him. Sulu tells Scotty that the computers indicate and impact somewhere in the heart of the Eurasian continent. Uhura reports that she's getting military alerts from the major powers. Scotty decides he must risk calling Kirk and tells Uhura to open a channel. At launch control, the mission planners have noted the malfunction in the rocket and have tried to override and get it back on course. The scientists are confuse when the warhead arms itself as to how it could have done that on its own. They prepare to send a destruct signal which they hope will work otherwise they're gonna drop an H-bomb on someone somewhere. Kirk, hoping everyone's distracted sufficiently steps over, and tries to activate his communicator but he's caught by the guard and sent back to the corner. Just afterward, Scotty attempts to contact Kirk for instructions. When the communicator beeps and the rocket base guard picks it up and tries to talk to Scotty, Spock steps over under the guise of showing the guard how to use it and then he uses the Vulcan nerve pinch to render the guard unconscious. Kirk has Scotty beam them to Seven's office. Unfortunately for the scientists, the destruct signal does not work and the lead flight controller picks up a red phone to call the President. Back in Seven's apartment Seven tries telling Roberta the truth about what's happening and that truly advanced civilizations wouldn't take strange forms and come here in force, but that the truly best option is to take humans to their planet and train them until they are needed on Earth. Roberta tells him that she truly wants to believe him and she knows that the world needs help and that's why some of the people of her generation act crazy, wondering if they'll still be alive when they're thirty. As Seven tries to run back to the computer, at that moment Kirk and Spock enter. Kirk asks Spock if he can detonate the warhead with the computer and he says he can try. Seven says that he wants it detonated too and that he must do it, at least 100 miles above the ground so it will frighten the people of Earth out of the arms race. At that moment, Scotty calls Kirk telling him their monitors show all major powers on full missile alert and a retaliatory strike is ordered upon warhead impact. Spock says that without more time, he can only estimate and Seven angrily ask Kirk to let him do his job. Kirk says he still doesn't know what Seven's job is and that he might set the controls so they can't detonate the warhead. Then Roberta points the servo at Kirk and demands that he leave Seven alone. Seven quickly grabs it from her hand and tells her the servo was set to kill. He deactivates it and then hands it over to Kirk. Kirk tells Spock if he can't detonate the warhead then he'll have to trust Seven. Spock tells Kirk that in the absence of facts, there is no logical decision and that he must rely on his intuition to guide him. After a brief moment, Kirk tells Seven "go!" Seven runs over to the Beta 5 and begins working the controls, activating a visual of low Earth orbit and having the computer count down the miles to go by tens. Finally at 104 miles, Seven detonates the warhead. A bit later, Seven is dictating the last bit of his report into the typewriter. "...and in spite of the accidental interference with history by the Earth ship from the future, the mission was completed." Spock then corrects Seven and tells him that by all appearances they did not interfere but that rather the Enterprise was simply part of what was supposed to happen on this day in 1968. Kirk says that their record tapes show that while it was never generally revealed, a malfunctioning sub-orbital warhead was exploded exactly 104 miles above the Earth. Spock adds that it furthermore caused the nuclear powers to re-assess the risks of a nuclear orbiting platform. Seven is relieved that everything turned out just how it was supposed to. For a moment, Roberta looks over at Isis and sees a rather gorgeous woman. She steps over to Seven and asks if he'll explain who that is. Seven says it's simply his cat. When Roberta looks back, Isis is a cat again. Seven then asks Kirk what else their record tapes show, but Kirk says they can't reveal all they know. Spock does say that it would be safe to say that Seven and Roberta have some interesting experiences ahead of them and Kirk agrees with that assessment. Kirk calls to be beamed up, Spock tells Seven to "live long and prosper" and Kirk says the same goes for Roberta. They beam up and Enterprise leaves orbit. Memorable Quotes "Well, how do you expect me to type, with my nose? Did you see that? The machine typed everything I – It's typing everything I'm saying! Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!" : - Roberta Lincoln "Without facts, the decision cannot be made logically. You must rely on your Human intuition." : - Spock "Hold it Mr. Seven. I'm telling you, you're through monkeying around with my country's rockets." : - Roberta Lincoln Background Information * The plot concept of beneficial aliens secretively helping earthlings, as opposed to the much more common "villain aliens" scenarios, was later resurrected by Roddenberry for his The Questor Tapes movie. * According to the Star Trek Compendium, the first draft script (dated ) had the Enterprise bridge crew watching an episode of Bonanza on the view screen. *The scene of Scotty beaming Gary Seven on board is taken from . * Along with the Vians, Colonel Gary Seven is one of the few humanoids to have ever manifested insensitivity to a Vulcan nerve pinch. * This is the only episode of Star Trek in which time travel is treated as "routine". The Temporal Prime Directive doesn't seem to have been created yet. * Gary Seven's Beta 5 computer contains many components from the M-5 in . It was recycled yet again for . * This episode was first aired on March 29, 1968. In a sad prediction, six days later, on April 4, 1968, there was indeed an important assassination - that of Martin Luther King. * The coincidence goes beyond King's assassination: Spock mentions that the same day the US is launching an orbital nuclear warhead platform there will also be an important assassination. The missile shown in the episode is actually stock footage of the launch of Apollo 4, the first unmanned test of a Saturn V. That assassination was the same day as the launch of Apollo 6, the second unmanned test of a Saturn V. Spock's other "prediction" of a government coup in Asia did not happen that day. * William Blackburn appears as a rocket control room technician in this episode, one of the few times he is seen out of a Starfleet uniform. * An extremely interesting effect is used for the transporter as Seven is beamed aboard for the first time – slow motion flames can be seen behind the opaque back wall of the chamber. This was probably created using a rear projection. * Robert Lansing (Gary Seven) is the only Star Trek: The Original Series guest star whose credit appears after the opening credits instead of during the end credits--complete with character name. * This episode takes place entirely in 1968, with no scenes in the 23rd century. Along with (which takes place in 1944), this is one of only two Star Trek episodes based entirely in the 20th century. * The Enterprise doors behave very strangely in this episode: in , Data once claimed that the doors were programmed to only respond to Humanoid signatures, but on two occasions they open for Isis the cat. Interestingly, they don't open all the way, just about a foot, for her to fit through. (Of course, Data made this observation decades after the events of the original series. Perhaps the doors had been improved in the interim.) * Teri Garr had a very unpleasant time filming this episode, perhaps stemming from Gene Roddenberry's involvement in decisions regarding her costume, specifically the length of her skirt. The hem was taken up so much it became very distorted. In interviews since, she has refused to talk about 'Star Trek' in any way. *The events of this episode, which take place in 1968, occurred (from the point of view from the Enterprise crew) over a year before those of which take place in 1969. * The rocket storage buildings at the Rocket base were studio buildings on the Paramount lot, with NASA footage of Apollo rockets matted in above them. In a wonderful attention to detail, Launch Director Cromwell's car matches the car seen in one of the stock footage sequences. * The address of Gary Seven's headquarters isn't that far from the fictional address of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, who also lived on East 68th Street. 811 East 68th Street is an address that only exists in Brooklyn, NY at this time. * This is the only episode of the second season to have Gene Roddenberry credited as "Producer" instead of "Executive Producer", the first time he had received such a credit since the first season. * This is also the only episode of the second season that has no credited studio executive in charge of its production, as Herbert F. Solow had left Paramount Television by this time, and would be replaced by Douglas S. Cramer beginning with the third season. Production timeline * First draft teleplay, * Story outline by Gene Roddenberry and Art Wallace, * Story outline, * Teleplay, * First draft script, * Filmed early , late . Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 29, catalogue number VHR 2381, . *US VHS release: . *UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.9, . *Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 28, . *As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection. *''Expected as part of the TOS Season 2 HD-DVD collection.'' ''Assignment: Earth'' (TV series) This episode was designed partly as a pilot for a new series featuring Gary Seven and his mission. The first draft pilot script ( ) had no mention of Star Trek or its characters, and the intended series never reached production.http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/assignment.htm Apocrypha * In various novels and comics, the alien race that trained Gary Seven was revealed as an ancient race called the Aegis. * Seven and Lincoln have appeared in several Star Trek novels (Assignment: Eternity and the two-volume series, The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox) and short stories ("Seven and Seven" by Kevin Hosey in Strange New Worlds VI and "Assignment: One" by Kevin Lauderdale in Strange New Worlds VIII). Links and References Starring * William Shatner as Kirk Also Starring * Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy Guest Star * Robert Lansing as Mister Seven Co-Starring * Terri Garr as Roberta Lincoln * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Walter Koenig as Chekov * Don Keefer as Cromwell * Lincoln Demyan as Lipton (credited as "Sergeant") * Morgan Jones as Col. Nesvig * Bruce Mars as Charley (credited as "First Policeman") * Ted Gehring as Second Policeman * Paul Baxley as a Freeman (credited as "Security Chief") Uncredited Co-Stars * Barbara Babcock as the Beta 5 computer (voice) * Victoria Vetri as Isis in Human form * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Unknown actors as: ** Security Guard, Lieutenant ** Mission Control announcer (voice) References 1968; 20th century; 68th Street; Agent 201; Agent 347; Asia; Bermuda; Beta 5 computer; birthmark; Canary Islands; cat; CIA; class 1 supervisor; colonel; deflector shields; dog; Earth; Earth Cold War; encyclopedia; Euro-Asian continent; exceiver; extended orbit; FBI; feet; force shields; gantry; Halson, Albert; H-bomb; Highway 949; history; human history; hydrogen; intelligence quotient; IQ; launch director; light-speed breakaway factor; Johnson, Lyndon; McKinley Rocket Base; meter; mile; minute; missile; nuclear holocaust; nuclear weapon; nuclear warhead platform; Omicron IV; orbit; oxygen; police; pound; President of the United States; record tapes; rocket; Ryan, John; satellite; secretary; sergeant; servo; ship's store; smoking; South Africa; sub-orbital warhead; subway; Supervisor 194; tape bank; telephone; Temporal Mechanics; transporter; typewriter; unnamed Alpha and Beta Quadrant planets; United States of America; USS; voice pattern; Vulcan; Vulcan neck-pinch; warhead; weather satellite; World War III; External links * |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} Category:TOS episodes de:Ein Planet, genannt Erde es:Assignment: Earth fr:Assignment: Earth nl:Assignment: Earth